Extreme Weather 2011

Upper Midwest flooding

Summer 2011

Melting of an above-average snow pack across the Northern Rocky Mountains combined with above-average precipitation caused the Missouri and Souris Rivers to swell beyond their banks across the upper Midwest. An estimated 11,000 people were forced to evacuate Minot, N.D., due to the record high water level of the Souris River, where 4,000 homes were flooded. Numerous levees were breached along the Missouri River, which flooded thousands of acres of farmland. Estimated losses exceed $2 billion. The flooding also stretched into the Canadian Prairies, where property and agriculture losses were expected to surpass $1 billion. The flooding caused at least 5 deaths.